A woman believed to be in her mid-30s was struck and killed by a minivan just before dawn Wednesday, marking the 10th pedestrian death on GTA roads in the past nine days.

She was hit by a southbound blue Honda Odyssey on Dufferin St., north of Preston Rd. The driver had swerved in an attempt to avoid her, said Const. Hugh Smith, but she was caught by the passenger-side mirror and it appeared her head hit the windshield. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident happened in darkness, just after 7 a.m., in front of the Fairbank Memorial Community Recreation Centre, which is in a hilly area with limited visibility, Smith said.

"It's very concerning that the proportion of pedestrian fatalities is now greater than our cars," Blair said Wednesday, pointing to a big reduction recently in deaths among drivers and passengers in motor vehicle collisions. "Last year in Toronto, there was the lowest number of traffic fatalities in 50 years."

Toronto Police has had a number of pedestrian enforcement initiatives in the recent past, with bus stops, crosswalks and intersections targeted.

And, "there is a new legislation for distracted drivers, which is an issue as well," said Blair. The law against use of hand-held devices while driving will be aggressively enforced starting in February, he said.

So what's to blame for this spate of tragic incidents? "Sometimes it's the fault of the pedestrian and sometimes it is the driver," said York Region police Sgt. Steve Kempster, who was on the scene of a Tuesday fatality in Vaughan. "You're always going to lose against a vehicle."

Montreal, long considered the jaywalking capital of Canada, faced a similar year of reckoning back in 2006, when 27 pedestrians were killed in the city and 183 seriously injured.

In response, the police department introduced a safety program that helped change that dangerous reputation. Police now credit two annual safety campaigns that target pedestrians, in spring and fall, for a dramatic reduction in just a few years.

In 2008, 77 pedestrians were seriously injured, and in 2009 there were 19 pedestrian fatalities, down 30 per cent from 2006. So far in 2010, no pedestrian deaths have been reported in the city.

"What we started doing was, on top of writing tickets, going through an education campaign," said Insp. André Durocher, head of the vehicle collisions unit for the Montreal police department. "Not only with citizens, but with police officers as well."

Some key features of the safety campaign include:

Mandatory pedestrian safety training for all officers.

Targeting at-risk groups: students in schools and the elderly in seniors' centres.

A media blitz to broaden awareness of specific issues such as crossing only at intersections and only on green lights.

"Writing tickets was part of the solution, not the solution," Durocher says. "We see there's a direct link with the campaigns we've done and the reduction in pedestrian accidents."

On top of the educational campaigns, police have worked with city engineers to extend crossing times at big intersections.

"One thing you used to have in Montreal is the perception of (violators) not getting a ticket. People are starting to realize they have to share the roads – motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Those old perceptions are starting to change."

Toronto chief Blair said historically the numbers have been improving in Toronto as well. But he said after the recent spate of deaths, "One is one too many."

York, Peel and Durham regions have fared even worse this month, on a per-capita basis.

Blair said the police services work closely together and with the Ontario Provincial Police on such issues.

"We have a provincial traffic committee that looks into all legislation and training in order to make our roadways safer. There is good coordination between us," Blair said.

Councillor Bill Saundercook, co-chair of the Toronto Pedestrian Committee, has asked for traffic services staff to make recommendations on pedestrian safety at the committee's next meeting on Feb. 10.

He has called for reduced speed limits and heightened awareness on the part of both pedestrians and drivers that they must share the road.

"I think what needs to be looked into is whether vehicle operators are making pedestrians nervous by trying to take turns too quickly," he said, adding he believes Tuesday's two pedestrian deaths were preventable.

With files from Raveena Aulakh

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